May 25, 2004

Microsoft Talks Tough About Open Source PCWorld - A top official of Microsoft last week claimed that governments that support open source software are not helping build a viable software ecosystem in their communities. Chris Sharp, director for platform strategy for Microsoft in the Asia-Pacific and Greater China region, said governments that standardize on open source software are hurting their local commercial software vendor communities because these companies are being robbed of opportunities to make money that they need to invest in developing more software products. Sharp, who used to work for Red Hat before joining Microsoft, said building open source software is a "waste of money." With open source, a company is in effect giving away its intellectual property, he said, adding that this prevents a software company from getting back benefits from its IP. "If you are compelled to give back to the community, then you don't have the opportunity to benefit from that knowledge [you have created]," he stressed. Myth Busting Sharp, who talked to a small group of local journalists, added that there are several myths surrounding open source software that many people tend to accept as true. 9:36:13 PM

FBI Apologizes to Brandon Mayfield for Arrest in Connection to Madrid Bombings Voice of America, DC - The FBI has apologized to a man it arrested in connection with the Madrid train bombings, hours after he was cleared of any wrongdoing. The Federal Bureau of Investigation detained Oregon lawyer Brandon Mayfield for two weeks after investigators thought they had matched his fingerprint to one found on a bag of detonators in Madrid. Last week, U.S. officials released the 37-year-old Mayfield after Spanish police said the fingerprints belonged to an Algerian man. 11:02:26 AM

Ontario sharia tribunals assailed I originally talked about this in November of last year.  Although my first reaction was negative, I was calmed down by lawyer Eugene Volokh who pointed out that this was just another form of arbitration.  Of course reading this Toronto Star report, it seems my first impression was right... ...many women will be socially and psychologically coerced into participating. To refuse would mean rejection by their families and the community — or worse. "In a straight disagreement between a husband and wife, the husband's testimony will prevail. That is sharia. Even those women who know they can appeal will not challenge an arbitration decision for fear of the consequences." Despite what the attorney-general's office blithely assumes, ( Homa Arjomand )  says, it's unlikely decisions contrary to Canadian law will ever show up before the courts. Sharia-approved but illegal activities already occur in Toronto, and she fears this will give strength to them. Muslim women are battered but don't dare report it. Bigamous marriages occur. Among her clients are two 14-year-old girls who were married last year to older men, in defiance of Ontario law prohibiting marriage before age 16. 10:10:43 AM

ARAB prisoners beaten and tortured, innocent bystanders killed by gunfire - another damning human rights report. But the difference this time is that the violence is being perpetrated not by coalition forces in Iraq, but by the Palestinian Authority, and the victims are its own people. The report, partly funded by the Finnish government, claims Palestinian cities are in a state of near anarchy, with people on the payroll of Yasser Arafat’s Palestinian Authority (PA) blamed for 90 per cent of gangland violence. 8:30:30 AM